Steam iron reservoir water supply and water discharge means



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Patented Mar. 4, 1952 omiso STEAM IRON RESERVOIR WATER SUPPLY AND WATERDISCHARGE S Frank E. Finlayson, Ontario, Calif., assigner to GeneralElectric Company, a corporation of New York Application January 7, 1949,Serial No. 69,756

7 Claims. ((31. 38-77) This invention relates to a pressing device andit has for its object the provision of an improved pressing ironarranged so that it may be used as a conventional dry iron, and also togenerate steam so that it may be used as a steam iron.

More particularly, this invention relates to a steam iron which isprovided with a water reservoir and an improved means for filling thereservoir, venting it, and emptying the liquid therefrom. A furtherobject of this invention is to provide a simplied and improved means forcontrolling the low of water from the water reservoir to the steamgenerating chamber when the iron is used as a steam iron. Improved meansare also provided in accordance with this invention to prevent the flowof water to steam generating chamber whenever the iron is tilted backand placed on a heel rest provided'on the iron. It is also an object ofthis invention to provide an iron which is reliable in operation due tothe simplicity of the operating parts; which is eflicient in operation;and which may be pro duced at a relatively low cost in order to makeavailable for the market an inexpensive iron having the aboveadvantages.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference should behad to the accompanying drawing in whichFig. 1 is a side elevation viewof an iron embodyingI` the features of my invention, the forward portionof the iron being shown in vertical section taken along the longitudinalaxis of the iron; Fig, 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the iron inits up-ended position supported on a heel rest; and Fig. 3V is avertical sectional view of the front portion of an iron showing analternative embodiment of my invention, said section being taken alongthe longitudinal axis of the iron.

Referring to the drawing, this invention has been shown as applied to anelectrically heated iron comprising a sole plate l@ a top cover l l forthe iron, and a handle t2, attached to this cover; A water reservoir I3is provided within the space defined by the top Vcover and the soleplate. The handle Y I2, which preferably is molded from a suitable;phenolic condensation product or other heat insulating material, has avhand` grip portion. i4, a front' handle support portion l5, and' a'rear' handle support i The rear handle support is provided with aprotuberance Mia and thisl protuberance in conjunction with the body-ofthe iron forms a heel rest upon which the iron be up-ended' when not inuse, astshown. by Fig; 2.

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- Thel pressing surfaceof the iron comprises the sole plate lil whichpreferably is cast of a heatconducting material such as aluminum.Imbedded in the sole plate it! is a suitable electrical heating elementl? which preferably will be of the sheathed type. While the design ofthis heating element does not form a part of this invention, briefly theheating element comprises a helical resistance conductor E8 mountedWithin an outer metallic sheath I9 and supported in spaced relation withreference to the outer sheath by an electrically insulating heatconducting mass 20, such as highly compressed granulated magnesiumoxide. The heating element l1 is roughly in the shape of a hairpin withthe extremities of its legs extending towards the rear of the iron andits nexus at the forward `or pointed end of the iron. Any suitablemethod may be used for connection of the electrical resistance elementI8 to a source of power. A rotatable knob 2|, located in a convenientposition, is provided for adjustment of a thermostatic switch, notshown, to control the temperature of the iron.

A steam generating chamber 22 is provided adjacent the soleplate so thatwater from the reservoir I3 dripping into chamber 22 will be vaporizedand discharged through the pressing surface of the iron. Chamber 22includes a cavity 23 in the upper surface of the soleplate I0 intorwhichthe water from the reserv-oir flows. A trough 24 is employed to conductthe water to this cavity 23 so that the water will be spread out over awider area of the cavity to insure rapid vaporization. Cavity 2S isheated by the s-oleplate so that during operation of the iron the cavityis heated and, therefore, the water fed into it will be instantly ashedinto steam. The steam so generated is confined within chamber 22 by acover plate 25 and hood 21 cooperating with the soleplate lil to definethe upper Wall of chamber 22. Cover plate 25 and hood 2l are 'fastenedto the soleplate by screws 26 or other suitable fastening means. Acircuitous passage (not shown) is preferably provided between the coverplate 25 and the soleplate it for conducting the steam from cavity 23 tothe steam discharge ports 23. The aforedescribed soleplate chute isdescribed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 790,525,filed December 9, 1947, now Patent No. 2,582,773 dated January l5, 1942,led as a division of my copending application Serial No. 596,298, liledSeptember 11, 1946, now Patent 2,557,732, patented June 19, 1951, andboth of which are assigned to the assignee of the instant application.Reference is also made to my copending application Serial No. 696,291,filed September 11, 1946, now Patent 2,499,184, patented February 28,1950, also assigned to the assignee of the instant application, andwhich describes and claims a chute extending rearwardly for conveyingwater from a reservoir dischage port to a steam generator.

The water reservoir I3 comprises a tank fabricated from a suitablenon-rusting material such as brass. This tank I3 may be shaped to tclosely adjacent the underside of the top cover I I of the iron in orderto have sufficient volume of water Within the reservoir for continuosuse during the ironing period. The reservoir I3 preferably should bespaced IJfrom the soleplate so that Water within the reservoir will notbe heated to steaming temperature. To provide communication betweenreservoir I3 and chamber 22 and to support the reservoir with respect tothe soleplate I0, the valve assembly 29 is securely fastened toreservoir I3 and hood 21 of the steam generating chamber.

Valve assembly 29 includes a bushing 30 internally threaded to receivethe oriiiced member 3I. The bushing 30 is xed to hood 21 by any suitablemethod and denes an aperture through the top oi the hood. Reservoir I3is provided with an aperture in alignment with the aperture dened bybushing 30, so that when orificed member 3I is inserted through theaperture in the reservoir it may be threaded into bushing 30 to clampthe reservoir and hood together. A suitable gasket 33 may be interposedbetween the bushing 30 and the underside of the reservoir to provide asealed connection between the reservoir I3 and the hood 21. The orifice34 passing through the member 3| permits flow of water from thereservoir into the steam generating chamber. The diameter of this oriceshould be such as will allow the water to drip into the steam generatingchamber at a rate which will provide the desired amount of steam duringa normal pressing operation. Other means will, of course, be apparent toone skilled in the art for supporting the reservoir and furnishingcommunication between the reservoir and the steam generating chamber.

A fill tube or riser 35 furnishes communication to the reservoir foraddition of liquid. An opening is provided into the water tank I3 at itsupper forward portion for reception of this ll tube and a similaraligned opening is also provided in the top cover II of the iron. Filltube 35 extends through these aligned openings and is connected to boththe top cover and the reservoir by any suitable method well known to theart. As shown in Fig. 1, an annular groove 36 is provided on the lowerend of ll tube 35 and this groove receives the edge portions of theaperture in the reservoir. Fig. 3 illustrates an alternative method inwhich the lower end of ll tube 35 is flared outwardly and edge portionsof the aligned openings in reservoir I3 and cover II over-lie thisoutwardly flared portion. An insulating gasket 31 and a washer 38 aroundthe outside of the tube 35 may be employed between the top cover II ofthe iron and the front handle support I5. Such a construction will aidin preventing the handle from becoming uncomfortably hot duringoperation.

The front handle support I has an internal bore of an appropriate shapeto receive snugly the fill tube 35. The strength oi this portion of thehandle may be `increased by employing va liner 39, and this liner isshown in Fig. 1 as a cylindrical tube closed at its upper end. The/liner 39, fill tube 35 and the handle I2 are connected together by athreaded fastening device 40, which also serves to attach the fronthandle support I5 to the body of the iron.

A filling, venting, and emptying aperture 4I is provided for thereservoir I3. 'I'his aperture is defined by the aligned openingsprovided through the front handle support I5, liner 39, and ll tube 35.It will be noted that this lling opening 4I faces the front or pointedend of the iron so that when the iron is on its heel rest, as sho-wn onFig. 2, the aperture faces upwardly to permit water to be poured from asmall pitcher, or the like, into the fill tube for adding water to thereservoir. This construction has the distinct advantage over theconventional arrangement where water is added to the reservoir while theiron is in its normal ironing position, in that with this constructionany overiiow while lling the water tank will merely flow over the handleportion of the iron, and will not strike the hot surfaces of the iron.This arrangement also facilitates the lling of the reservoir in that theiron is on its heel rest during this time and there is no danger ofburning or scorching the material being ironed or the surface of theironing board. It is contemplated in this construction to employ nomeans whatsoever for closing the lling aperture 4I and, therefore, nospecial means need be provided for venting the water reservoir. Aperture4I also provides a means by which the water from the reservoir may bepoured out upon completion of ironing. Y

Provision is made to automatically cut off the iiow of water to thesteam generator when the iron is on its heel rest. This feature is bestillustrated by Fig. 2. The top cover II extends beyond the rear end 42of the sole plate. This projecting portion of cover II and theprotuberance Ia on the handle form the heel rest for the iron. In thisposition of rest, the iron is tilted back from a vertical position asufficient amount to provide a position of stabilitv. When the iron isin this position, the orice 34 may be so located in the reservoir thatit is above a horizontal line passing through the filling aperture 4IThe res-ult of this arrangement is that when water is poured into thereservoir through lling aperture 4I the level of liquid can never riseto the point where Water will ow into the steam generator, since in theheel rest position, orifice 34 is always above the liquid level.However, when the iron is returned to operating position, water mayreadily drip through the orifice onto the trough 24 and thence to thecavity 23 in the sole plate in order to generate steam.

It is contemplated as within the scope of this invention that this flatiron may be used without any valve operating member or device to sealoff orifice 34. Without such a member for controlling the ow of water tothe steam generating chamber, this iron would still be suitable as asteam iron since Water flows to the cavity 23 in the sole plate onlywhen the iron is in normal operating position; and if it is desired tobe used as a dry iron, liquid contained in the reservoir is merelypoured out through the aperture 4 I. Nevertheless, the specificconstruction shown by the drawing has been illustrated as including avalve operating member with a plug portion adapted to block off orifice34.

One form of such a flow control member is illustrated .by Figs. 1 and 2,which showa ow control' member 431formed'from a` resilient piece of wireof approximately the same diameter as thediameter of theoriii'ce 34.Member 43mcludes a lower' straight portion 44 which projects through theorice for blocking 01T the flow of water'to the steam generatingchamber. An intermediate bowed portion is formed on member 4'3 tofrictionally engage the inside wall of ll tube 35. The flow controlmember 43 also'has7 a nger operating portion t5 extending outside theclosed end of liner 39 of the front handle support. By such aconstruction, this valve operating member 43 is slidable vertically bythe operator to control thefilow of water from the reservoir to thesteam generating cavity; and the valve is i held in any given positionby the frictional engagement of the intermediate bowed portion withinthe-inside wall of the ll tube. Member 43 is of suhcient length to allowthe lower plug portion to extend through the orifice so that when theflow control member closes oi the orice 34, any scale or dirt within theorifice will be forced out. This flow control means constitutes thesubject matter of copending application to AlfredY G. Swenson, SerialNo. 69,774 led concurrently herewith, and assigned to the assignee ofthis application.

Fig. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment of this invention with amodified construction of the'll'ing arrangement and flow control means.In accordance with this construction, the internal bore in the fronthandle support l5 includes a portion 45 of adequate diameter to receivethe ll tube 35 and a portion of reduced diameter il to receive the'valve operating button 48. A cup-shaped member isis employed in thisarrangement extending through the aligned openings in the front handlesupport and the ll tube to conduct water poured into the fillingaperture to the iill' tube 35 and thence into the reservoir. A sere-en59 maybe placed over the opening from member i9 into the fill tube inorder to prevent entrance of foreign matter and dirt into the reservoir.An inverted cap 5I closes the upper end of lill tube 35 and a screw et)is employed to fasten together the cup-shapedfilh ing member 49, the cap5i for the fill tube, the ll tube 35, andthe handle.

The valve operating member 52, illustrated by Fig. 3, comprises asubstantially straight wire withits lower end capable of projectingthrough andblocking oi the orifice which furnishes communication betweenthe reservoir and the steam generator. Member 52 passes upwardly throughthe reservoir and the ll tube with its upper end Button 48 is projectingthrough the cap 5i. connected to the valve operating member 52 by screw53 so that a person using the iron may control the position of thevalve. A coiled spring 54 is positioned within a cavity 55 which extendsup into the button 48 to resiliently bias the valve operating member 52upwardly to a valve open position in which water-dow to the steamgenerator is permitted. This valve button is slidable within the bore i?provided in the front handle support. A shoulder 56 on the button isengageu able with a cooperating projection El provided within the bored?. Therefore, to hold the valve in a closed position, button 43 isdepressed against the action of spring 5d and shoulder 55 is engagedunder projection 51 to hold the button down. Thus, a simplified valveoperating member is provided in which the flow of water to 6by'permitting the control of steam to the ironing surface without anyYinterruption of theironing operation.

It will be observed that in the form of my invention shown in Fig. 3,iill tube 35 inclines forwardly rather than rearwardly as in Figs. 1 and2, and, therefore, when the reservoir isA filled in the Fig. 3embodiment, the entire volume of the reservoir'and ill tubev may beiilled to overflowing.

.Vhile I have shown particular-embodiments of' my invention, it will beunderstood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited solely thereto,since modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by theappended claims to cover any such modications as fall within the truespirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

l. A steam iron comprising a liquid reservoir, a steam generatingchamber, an oriflced member between said reservoir and said chamber topermit liquid from the reservoir to ow into said chamber while ironing,means for heating said chamber for generating steam from the water fedinto it, a hollow riser fixed to and extending away from said reservoir,said riser having a xed length and a closed outer end and also a fillingopening adjacent said outer end and facing the forward end of said iron,a handle support on iron, said handle support having an internal boreand said riser being located within said bore, means defining a llingaperture in saidhandle support in the forward face thereof adjacent saidfilling opening for filling said reservoir,- a heel rest upon which theiron may be up-ended, said filling aperture facing upwardly when theiron is lip-ended so that liquid may be poured into said riser forfilling said reservoir, and control means extending through said riserand terminating in a manual control for adjusting the rate of flow ofliquid through said orificed member from the reservoir to the steamgenerating chamber.

2. A steam iron comprising a liquid reservoir, a steam generatingchamber, metering means for controlling the now of liquid from saidreservoir to said chamber, a tubular riser xed to said reservoir,. saidriser extending up from said reservoir when the steam iron is in itsnormal ironing position, a handle support on said iron, said handlesupport having a bore located therein and said riser being' received insaid bore, means defining a transverse opening through said handlesupport into said riser forming a filling aperture for the reservoir, aheel rest upon which the iron may be tilted back from its normal ironingposition, and metering control means extending through said riser andterminating in a finger control for adjusting the rate of flow of liquidthrough said metering means to said generating chamber.

3. A steam iron comprising a water reservoir,

a steam generating chamber, a valve furnishing communication betweensaid reservoir and chamber, means for heating said chamber to generatethe steam generating chamber is controlled by a single simple movementof the button 48, theresteam from the water fed into it from saidreservoir, a il tube connected to and extending away from saidreservoir, said fill tube being closed at its outer end and having afilling opening in its front wall adjacent its outer end, a handle forsaid iron provided with a hollow bore in which said ll tube ispositioned, said handle having a port aligned with the filling openingof said ll tube to permit lling and emptying of said reservoir, meansconstituting a heel rest upon which said iron may be up-ended and inwhich position said port faces upwardly, said valve being located withrespect to said port so that the valve is always above the liquid levelin said reservoir when the iron is on its heel rest, and a Valvecontrolling member siidably movable longitudinally within said filltube, said valve controlling member projecting outside of said handleand terminating in a control member. for manual adjustment of the rateof flow of water.

4. In a steam iron, a liquid reservoir, a steam generator, a valveproviding liquid flow control from said reservoir to said generator, afill tube connected to and extending away from said reservoir, said lltube being closed at its outer end and having a filling opening in itsfront wall adjacent its outer end, a handle provided with a hollow boreto receive said fill tube and having an aperture aligned with saidfilling opening for addition of liquid to said reservoir, a heel restfor said iron when it is tilted back from normal ironing position saidaperture and filling opening face upward whereby and in whichtilted-back position liquid may be poured into said aperture, and alongitudinally slidable valve controlling member extending through saidll tube, said valve controlling member projecting outside of said handleand terminating in a member for manual adjustment of the rate of iiow ofliquid.

5. A steam iron comprising a water reservoir, a iiash steam generator, apassage permitting water ow from said reservoir to said generator, amember for controlling water flow through said passage, a handle memberon said iron, said iiow control member having a portion located in saidhandle member and said flow control member being movable between aposition in which water flow is cut off and a position in which water owis permitted, means normally urging said flow control member to waterflow position, Walls dening a shoulder on said handle, and a projectionon said flow control member engageable with said shoulder by a sidewisemovement of such member to lock said flow control member in ilow cut-olfposition.

6. A steam iron comprising a water reservoir, a steam generator, a valveseat including a waterflow orifice extending from said reservoir to saidgenerator, a handle for said iron having a handle support portion withan internal bore, a tubular conduit connected to the reservoir andlocated within said bore, said conduit and handle support portion beingprovided with aligned apertures for lling said reservoir, a valveoperator having a portion cooperating with said -vvalve seat forcontrolling the flow of water to said generator, said valve operatorextending from said valve seat through said conduit and having on itsouter end a finger operating means mounted Within the bore in saidhandle support for slidable movement with respect to said handle,resilient means biasing said operator to a rst position with respect tosaid valve seat, and cooperating projections on the handle and thefinger operating means for locking said valve operator in a secondposition.

7. In a steam iron, a water tank, a steam generator, a passagepermitting water flow from said tank to said generator, a fill tubefixed to and extending away from said tank, said fill tube having anlling opening adjacent its outer end, a handle on said iron having ahandle support portion with an internal bore to receive said fill tube,means defining a filling aperture in said handle support portionadjacent said lling opening for adding water to said reservoir, a memberhaving a plug portion for controlling water flow through said passage,said member having a pushbutton thereon slidable within the bore in saidhandle between a position in which water flow is cut off and a positionin which water flow is permitted, means normally urging said flowcontrol member to a water-flow position, Walls defining a shoulder on aside of said internal bore, and a projection on said button adapted tobe moved into engagement with said shoulder by a sidewise movement ofthe button to lock said flow control member in a flow cut-off position.

FRANK E. FINLAYSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,279,215 Theilgaard Apr. 7, 19422,384,839 Kistner Sept. 18, 1945 2,419,705 Busch et al. Apr. 29, 19472,432,205 Morton Dec. 9, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date724,139 France Jan. 25, 1932 474,204 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1937

